Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services with MDX and DAX

Chapter 4

Data Sources and Data Source Views

What's in this chapter?

• Understanding data sources
• Working with data providers
• Creating Data Source Views (DSVs) with the DSV Wizard
• Enhancing DSVs with the DSV Designer
• Working with DSVs in depth
• Using multiple data sources in a DSV

You have completed Chapter 2 of the book, where you worked hands on with SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) 2012 multidimensional tools, and Chapter 3, where you learned the basics of the MDX language and used it to retrieve data from Analysis Services. The next three chapters of the book guide you in the use of the product to design dimensions and cubes.

The traditional approach of dimension and cube design is based on an existing single-source data set. In the real world, you will likely work with multiple relational data sources when you develop business intelligence applications. In this chapter you learn what data sources are in the Analysis Services multidimensional world and how they feed into the creation of Data Source Views (DSVs). These DSVs provide you with a consolidated, single-source view on just the data of interest across one or more data sources you define. The data sources and DSVs form the foundation for subsequent construction of both dimensions and cubes. More than one data source per project is supported as are multiple DSVs. You learn how this infrastructure plays out in this chapter.

Data Sources

For Analysis Services to retrieve data from a source, you need to provide it with ...